Lemongrass Recipes

Lemongrass in Action

Unmistakable lemongrass is the bay leaf of Southeast Asia. Its powerful lemon scent is evidence of but one layer of a complex flavor collage that hints at bay, verbena, and a broad range of citrus fruits. Lemongrass slyly reveals these exotic flavors as it dances over your palate. Lemongrass looks like extra-long, hard green onions with stiff olive green leaves. Buying lemongrass once meant a trip to an Asian food market, but the surge in popularity of Asian cuisine means you can now find the herb in most large supermarkets. Fresh is best; dried or powdered lemongrass products are poor substitutes. Choose fresh, unwrinkled, pale green, smooth stalks with pinkish "joints" at the base. The stalks should be firm and only slightly flexible. Use the pale ivory portion at the base and the tender interior of the stalk, discarding the tough outer leaves or grinding them to powder to use in dry rubs for grilled meats. Use whole pieces of stalk in long-simmering recipes or cut the pliable inner stalk into pieces, then gently pound or finely mince to toss into a recipe near the end of the cooking process. In addition to flavor, lemongrass adds an enchanting fragrance to steaming or poaching liquids.